Time, like always, was fleeting. Months went by, Liu Shu using most of it to shower Vorathen in asteroids. During this time, her proficiency in using her skills also increased tremendously. Of course, while
What Liu Shu focused on during this time was increasing her control. Also, she perfected the manipulation of
With her multitude of projects completed across the three worlds, all of Liu Shu's skills saw use and continued to increase in proficiency. She even used the
The Experience Points Liu Shu accumulated over the last few years reached 17,964,579. With them, Liu Shu inferred that she would've been able to reach Level 107 or so. Nevertheless, that would only increase her strength minutely. On the other hand, there were skills that took preference over Leveling Up just a few levels.
"Hm… I need to increase my World Tree Heart to the S- Rank if I want to move my
Liu Shu checked her skills and couldn't help but feel pained by the costs of upgrading them.
"To upgrade an A- Rank skill to the next sub-tier, I need 1,093,500 Experience Points. From A to A+, it becomes 1,327,106 Experience Points, and if I ever wanted to increase a skill from A+ to S-... Ugh… I need 15,918,140 Experience Points."
Checking her buffs and Temples, Liu Shu knew that she had some Experience Cost reductions. Although these Experience Point reductions weren't too high, they would effectively reduce the cost by 20%. That was a fifth of the total price!
Even then, Liu Shu couldn't help but feel her heart bleed when she saw the numbers.
"But… From what I've heard from Elyne, 16 million Experience Points should not be that much to upgrade it, right? I mean, I understand that due to my nature, the Experience Points I need to Level Up are much higher than usual. Even then, 16 million is basically a drop in the bucket for normal powerhouses."
If that was the case, Liu Shu couldn't help but doubt the veracity of Elyne's statement about the rarity of S- Rank skills and above. In Elyne's words, S- Rank skills were so rare that people would rarely possess one, if any.
Taking into account the ridiculous power boost that a Skill gets when sublimating from A+ to S- Rank, 16 million is not only not costly, it's worth it to the point that it feels cheap.
"I earn 2,346 Experience Points passively each day. This means that to get 16 million, I'd need 6820 days or 19 years. A single year has 360 days, after all."
Her mind continued spinning the numbers, and the more she thought about it, the more confused she was. "Wisdom, can you help me clarify this? No matter how I think about it, this 16 million feels like too little."
[Wisdom: Tianlian Liu Shu has forgotten that, unlike you, normal creatures do not only need to meet the Experience Point requirement. Instead, they must understand the principles of the skills and internalize them. Then, understand the process of evolution and direction, planning it out through internal comprehension or studies. S- Rank Skills and above are all godlike skills when used at their maximum potential. They begin to touch on Universal Principles, allowing one to tinker with the truths of the world. Ultimately, the Experience Point cap is not usually the problem, but comprehending the concept.]
Liu Shu's mind shone with realization. It had been so many years since she heard this piece of information that she had almost forgotten about it. "No wonder, no wonder."
Liu Shu's skills, like
Thinking in this way, she already had prime examples to compare with. "The effects of
Shaking her leaves, she scolded herself. "Don't think of things that are out of your reach. I must keep expanding at my own pace."
So, moving on, she concentrated on the System and spoke to it. "System, I want to upgrade some skills."
[What skills do you wish to upgrade?]
"I wish to upgrade
[Understood. Calculating… Experience Needed to upgrade 5
[After looking further, the total cost will be reduced by 22% to 7,370,078 Experience Points.]
[Are you sure you want to upgrade these eight skills?]
"Yes. Do it."
Her heart ached, but she was sure of it. The numbers and capabilities of these skills were already exceptional. So, if she upgraded them by a small sub-tier, her strength would increase by a significant amount, much more than if she were to invest her Experience Points into her Level.
Once she accepted, Liu Shu felt her mind go blank for a second. The energy of the world stirred, and her gaze pierced into the secrets of these skills. With understanding flashing in her mind, the images of several phenomena related to them manifested in her mind's eye.
She could see giant auroras that spanned several dozen kilometers, millions of invisible eyes observing the world from beyond the sky and below the earth. Her ability to peer into souls and affect others with her presence also increased, while the purity of her Cerulean Bloodsap increased.
Pulses of pure Ternary Essence melted into her blood, the energy of the world going dim for a few minutes. While all these happened, all
Buffs increased in number, millions having spontaneous enlightenments, while all beings saw their minds clear of the fog that they never noticed was there.
Meanwhile, Liu Shu had become the lord of elements. With
At the A+ Rank, her offensive skills were now truly catastrophic.
Finally, deep within Liu Shu's core, the World Tree Heart pulsed once, essence condensing and moving in ways Liu Shu never thought possible. The
The young babies around her glanced at their mom, their eyes shining at the magnificent spectacle. Even if they didn't understand what was happening, they couldn't help but become excited.
Phenomena appeared and disappeared for a while, and eventually, Liu Shu recovered her senses. Liu Shu exhaled from her real mouth, and her eyes blinked as she observed the horizon. "...Wow. That was something."
Liu Shu was honestly baffled. Since she had always upgraded the A Rank skills one by one, the effects were temporary and never this spectacular. "I guess that breaking through several skill tiers at once is much more strenuous than I initially expected."
Shaking her head lightly, she opened her System Page and looked at the new skill effects. "Hm… Quite impressive numbers. However, nothing has changed in terms of effects. Did I unlock a new fruit?"
She would be doubtful if she did. After all, the
She was a bit disappointed, but it didn't get to her for a long time. Instead, she was expectant. "The fruit I will unlock then will be incredibly potent, right?"
As she looked around and felt the chilly atmosphere, Liu Shu realized that the end of the year was approaching. "The year is ending soon… Next year will be full of interesting events, so I can't wait."
The World Tree, with her eyes open, looked at the city below her. "It's not often that I stop to see the city I've built…"
With her height, she was able to observe the entirety of the gargantuan city. Towering trees stood tall all over the place, but it didn't appear cluttered. Instead, everything was orderly, with plazas and an organized spread of necessary infrastructure. Hospitals, schools, higher education institutions, transportation, leisure… Even her first
"The
To cross from one side of the city to the other, people needed to take a detour around
Even then, the only people who dared complain were those who did not have much else to do.
"Boredom is quite scary…" Liu Shu smiled, not worried in the slightest. She had long come to terms with the fact that she couldn't make everyone happy.
"If we compare the quality of life of fifty years ago and now, the difference is so drastic that even relating them would be difficult."
The way Liu Shu decided how to distribute things was that if it took 45 minutes to walk for a Level 10 person, it was close by. With all the abilities, buffs, and strength increases, people who complained would immediately be stamped with the "lazy" characteristic by Liu Shu.
"And if they want to be closer to something, can't they just move? It's not like apartments cost too differently from location to location. Moving is one of the easiest things in my city."
After looking at the city for a week straight, with a smile on her lips, Liu Shu closed her eyes again and fused with nature, expanding her consciousness once more, and continued her work across all three worlds.
As their True World Tree, Liu Shu needed to work hard.